Allen, Gibson Defend Plans to Eliminate 58 Programs; Respond to No Confidence Votes, Student Protests

The program cuts being made at University of Northern Iowa should not come as a surprise, school Provost Gloria Gibson said Thursday afternoon.

Fifty-eight undergraduate and graduate programs are slated to be eliminated, and another 19 are to be restructured under a new plan released today. These cuts still must be approved by the Iowa Board of Regents.

"I've been here almost three years and each year the budget has been cut. I have been very consistent in saying there would be program closures," Gibson said. "There is no way to sustain that level of cut year, after year, after year and there not be an impact. It's virtually impossible."

President Ben Allen and Gibson sat down with reporters this afternoon, one hour after  of 77 academic programs recommended for closure or restructuring and discussed a wide range of issues, including faculty no confidence votes, potential layoffs and student protests.

For comprehensive coverage of the budget cuts, including the planned closure of Price Lab, visit the Cedar Falls Patch topic page. Get notified of the latest on Price Lab and other UNI news by signing up to the Cedar Falls Patch newsletter.

"It's very disappointing, and it was a very flawed system that came up with this result," Jeffrey Funderburk, chair of the faculty senate, said Thurday evening.

Allen: No Confidence Vote Was Painful But Expected

The budget cuts, which include the programs announced today as well as plans to close Malcolm Price Laboratory School and cuts to the , athletics and print services, have been controversial. The UNI faculty overwhelmingly cast in Allen and Gibson on March 2, a move unprecedented in the institution's history.

"I don't think a person would be honest with himself or herself if you would say it didn't hurt," Allen said in his first time directly addressing the vote. "I think when you're trying to make changes that are difficult, obviously for people here at the university, things like that can happen. Quite honestly, I anticipated there would be some type of show of concern, a vote of no confidence or some type of action."

He said he also has received emails from faculty in support of his decisions.

"We'll continue working with the faculty so that moving forward we can have the type of consultation that they do expect," Allen said. "But it does hurt. There's no doubt about it."

Gibson: Faculty Senate, Community Input Has Been Valuable

Allen was referring to the fact that many of the complaints from faculty centered around what they viewed as a lack of consultation with the faculty and wider UNI community about where cuts would be made.

Gibson, however, said conversations with the faculty senate had led to the list of programs to cut being reduced by about a third.

"We met with the faculty senate to get their input. We listened very carefully to them. And more than just listened. We acted on a number of their recommendations," she said. "Again, I understand they feel they weren't given enough time to consult with us. But the time that we spent was very, very valuable."

She said she received a large number of emails expressing the views of faculty, students and alumni.

"We took those emails very seriously. We read them, we thought about them, we discussed them. We valued very much that input and we did make changes based on that input," she said.

Programs Slated for Restructuring

Nineteen programs are slated for "restructuring." Gibson said that means downsizing, including cutting faculty positions and asking faculty members to reorganize their own department.

"I think that the main point of restructuring is it is in the hands of the faculty," Gibson said. "I know that there are some curricular issues that they will want to address; what's most important in those areas. That will be their challenge."

Saving Money, Hoping to Reinvest

Allen said it wasn't yet clear how much money would be saved from today's recommended program changes. Statements from the university have focused on the idea that money saved would be reinvested to make other programs stronger.

For example, Gibson said that though UNI is cutting it's French, German and Russian majors, it is possible that eventually they would be replaced by other languages like Mandarin Chinese or Arabic.

Allen, however, said he wasn't sure how much of the money saved through today's cuts would be set aside for reinvestment and how much would simply go to filling the hole left by funding cuts.

"We've been in kind of reaction mode. When the state cuts they budget, we react. They cut it again, we react," he said. "I think one of the purposes of making some of these more substantial changes is to avoid that situation. It let's us be in control."

On Faculty Positions Being Eliminated: 29 Invited to Meeting About Program Changes

Allen and Gibson said they are unsure how many faculty positions would be eliminated based on today's recommendations.

Twenty-nine tenured faculty were invited to meetings about affected programs today, a statement from UNI said, but that number does not necessarily reflect how many will take advantage of an early separation incentive package. That package was approved by the .

Gibson and Allen said if tenured faculty chose not to take the incentive package offered, there may options to transfer them within UNI. Otherwise the university may have to look at layoffs, Gibson said.

Allen said the university would work with United Faculty and follow faculty member's master contracts.

Keeping a Dedication to Science

Gibson said cuts to science programs such as physics and biology did not diminish the university's commitment to the sciences.

"We are closing some of the sciences, but we are also using this as an opportunity to strengthen some of the other areas of sciences," she said.

She said with physics, for example, the bachelor of sciences degree will be cut, but the bachelor of arts degree will remain, as will teaching of physics.

"What our state needs is physics teachers, and so this will allow us to become more focused in that area," she said. "I certainly don't feel that because we have closed one part, the B.S., that it in any way diminishes the quality of that program."

Allen On Student 24/7 Protest Vigil

Allen spoke positively about Students United for Academics, a group which has been holding a  in Seerley Hall since Monday, in protest of the proposed cuts.

"We have students here who are very passionate about the programs they are in, if they hear those are going to be terminated," Allen said. "I’d be very disappointed if they weren't passionate about keeping those programs. They’ve been extremely civil."

All students enrolled in cut programs will be able to finish their degrees, but no new students will be enrolled.

Walking out of the interview, Allen and Gibson passed through a crowd of students waiting in the hallway, some members of the study vigil and some holding protest signs.

"Thank you for being here," Allen said to them before he and Gibson walked down the stairs.